Recessed light fixtures known as "pot lights" are in widespread use in residential and commercial premises. They appeal to designers because they take up virtually no space in a room, being recessed into a ceiling or wall, and for their aesthetic versatility and appeal.
A typical recessed light fixture comprises a cylindrical housing, which is usually composed of aluminum, terminating in a housing flange flaring out from the mouth of the housing to cover the ceiling hole. The housing contains a socket for a floodlight, halogen bulb or other electric lamp, which is engaged to the socket through the mouth of the fixture.
Conventionally, to mount such a light fixture a hole is cut in the ceiling and a mounting ring is inserted which engages the fixture. The mounting ring engages the hole in an interference fit, with a flange that abuts the exposed face of the ceiling and a spring, flexible arm or other structure which retains the mounting ring in the hole. The hole in the ceiling must be precisely cut to match the size and shape of mounting ring, otherwise the ring will not properly engage the hole and the fixture will not be securely mounted. This can be a time consuming process where a number of fixtures are to be installed. Further, since even a properly mounted ring will usually experience some degree of motion in the hole when pressure is applied, it is difficult to press the fixture entirely into the hole to the point where the housing flange snugly abuts the ceiling; once the pressure is released the mounting ring settles back to a rest position in the hole and a small space is usually left between the ceiling and the housing flange, which detracts from the aesthetic appeal of the fixture.
It would thus be advantageous to provide a means for mounting such a recessed light fixture which requires less precision in cutting a hole in the panel for the fixture while still ensuring a secure mounting of the fixture. It would further be advantageous to provide a means for mounting such a recessed light fixture so that the housing flange rests flush against the supporting panel.
The present invention overcomes these problems by providing a mounting clip for engaging the periphery of the hole, having a resilient arm which extends into the space occupied by the housing of the fixture and frictionally engages the housing. In the preferred embodiment a gripping edge of the resilient arm engages the housing of the fixture at an oblique angle relative to the panel; thus, the fixture can be substantially depressed into the ceiling hole, and by turning the housing in one direction the gripping edge of the resilient arm etches into the housing at a pitch which effectively allows the housing to be "screwed" into the hole until the housing flange rests flush against the panel. A plurality of clips distributed about the hole in the panel thus securely supports the light fixture flush mounted to the panel.
In the preferred embodiment the mounting clip comprises an anchoring member and a clamping member which are adjustable relative to one another, so that the clip can be secured to ceilings of different thicknesses, the supporting panel being essentially clamped between the anchoring member and the clamping member. To mount a recessed light fixture into a panel using the clip of the invention requires no additional hardware or supporting structure. All that is required is hole for the fixture in the supporting panel. This results in a substantial savings in labour and material costs.
The present invention thus provides a clip for mounting a recessed light fixture having a housing with a flange disposed about a mouth of the housing into a hole in a supporting panel, comprising an anchoring member having a floor, a clamping member slidably engaged to the anchoring member by sliding the clamping member along the anchoring member in a clamping direction, having a foot disposed in opposition to the floor, a fixing element for fixing the clamping member to a selected position along the anchoring member, and a resilient arm extending into a space to be occupied by the housing, wherein when a clip is affixed about the hole in the panel, as the fixture is inserted into the hole the resilient arm frictionally engages against the housing to mount the fixture to the panel.
The invention further provides a clip for mounting a recessed light fixture having a cylindrical housing with a flange disposed about a mouth of the housing into a hole in a supporting panel, comprising an anchoring assembly for engaging the clip to a periphery of the hole, and a resilient arm comprising a gripping edge impinging into a space to be occupied by the housing, wherein when the fixture is disposed in the hole the gripping edge frictionally engages the housing to mount the fixture into the panel.
The invention further provides, in combination, a recessed light fixture having a housing with a flange disposed about a mouth of the housing, and a clip for mounting the light fixture into a hole in a supporting panel, the clip comprising an anchoring assembly for engaging the clip to a periphery of the hole and a resilient arm comprising a gripping edge impinging into a space to be occupied by the housing, wherein when the fixture is disposed in the hole the gripping edge frictionally engages the housing to mount the fixture into the panel.